1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to typing aids, specifically to hand-held typing aids for people who experience injury or discomfort in their hands or arms when typing on a keyboard apparatus, or who wish to avoid same.
2. Prior Art
It is estimated that one in every four people who type in the United States suffers from repetitive stress injury (RSI). Many of these individuals experience mild-to-severe discomfort in their hands or arms from the act of repeatedly depressing the keys of a computer keyboard, typewriter, calculator, cash register, etc. with their fingers (as opposed to those, for example, who experience physical discomfort while using a computer mouse). Some of these individuals are able to reduce their discomfort or heal their injuries through physical therapy and improved typing posture. Others seek relief through surgery. Still others stop typing altogether, switching careers or leaving employment and filing for disability insurance. Many continue to work, utilizing typing aids to contain or minimize their discomfort or injury.
Currently, typing aids fall into three categories: ergonomic keyboards, voice-activated software, and hand-held typing aids. Ergonomic keyboards such as Microsoft's wave-shaped Natural Keyboard Elite™ or the Kinesis® Freestyle™ adjustable split keyboard require the use of fingers and can therefore aggravate existing RSI in the hands and arms. Voice-activated typing software, such as ScanSoft's Dragon NaturallySpeaking™ speech recognition software, relieve the hands and fingers but limit the user to computers running said software, are prone to hard-to-locate text errors, and are less useful for people working in noisy environments or those working in close proximity to others. Hand-held typing aids, like the Slip-On Typing/Keyboard Aid, by AdLib, Inc. (not patented), and Wanchik's Typer Orthosis (not patented), force the hands and arms into a non-neutral position and direct typing pressure to a single finger, causing stress to the tendons and nerves serving that finger. The Keyboard Aid/Button Pusher, by Maddak, Inc. (not patented), also promotes a non-neutral hand and arm position. U.S. patents 2007/0228092 A1 to Hammermeister (2007) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,292 to Kasday (1998) orient the user's hands and arms into a neutral position. However, these typing aids are secured to the user's palms, which can make them challenging to remove, rendering them less useful in fast-paced work environments where hands must be quickly freed to answer phones, jot down notes, etc. U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,448 to Kohn (1983) promotes a neutral hand position by way of a spherical grip into which various tools may be inserted. However, the grip is cumbersome to hold, obscures areas of the keyboard from the user's view, does not provide a neck cord for easy access, and can roll out of the user's reach when laid down on a desk or table.